Kliff Kingsbury predicted Patrick Mahomes’ record-setting contract
By John Buhler
Kliff Kingsbury knew Patrick Mahomes was going to make bank back in 2018.
Kliff Kingsbury is like an Air Raid Nostradamus or something when it comes to his predictions.
The Arizona Cardinals head coach famously said back when he was leading his alma mater’s Texas Tech Red Raiders if he had the No. 1 overall pick he’d take Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray with that pick. Fate would have it Kingsbury was fired by Texas Tech, became the head coach of Arizona, the team in possession of the No. 1 pick and made it happen in 2019.
Apparently, he wasn’t done making predictions involving high-end Air Raid quarterbacks back in 2018. In April of that year, Kingsbury told former Cleveland Browns teammates Joe Thomas and Andrew Hawkins on The ThomaHawk Show that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes would one day be the highest-paid player in the history of the NFL.
“I think the sky’s the limit,” Kingsbury said. “I got to watch him three years in practice and he just made throw after throw, like, ‘How did he do that? I truly believe he’ll be the highest-paid player in the history of the game when his contract comes up.”
Keep in mind this April 2018 came after only one career start for Mahomes, coming in Week 17 of his rookie year. We had a feeling Mahomes could become a great player for the Chiefs, but nothing quite like this. Now we have to wonder if there are any bold Air Raid quarterback predictions Kingsbury has made in the last few years on Baker Mayfield, Gardner Minshew or Spencer Rattler.
Kliff Kingsbury can predict the future for any Air Raid quarterback.
Admittedly, Kingsbury knew the talent Murray had coming out of high school and saw first-hand what Mahomes could do at the position in Lubbock. Murray was considered to be the greatest high school quarterback in the history of Texas. He initially went to play for the Texas A&M Aggies before transferring to Oklahoma to play for former Red Raiders quarterback Lincoln Riley.
I mean, just look at these Mahomes highlights at Texas Tech. He made even well-coached teams look like cannon fodder in Big 12 play. It’s a shame Kingsbury knew next to nothing about coaching defense, as Texas Tech couldn’t stop a nosebleed on that side of the ball, leading to his firing after the 2018 college football season.
Next. These 5 NFL teams are going to have the No. 1 overall pick soon. dark
Though we believe Matt Wells and his staff will get things right down in Lubbock here soon, it’s pretty remarkable really that Kingsbury got to coach Mahomes for three seasons. It was four years ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago. My how quickly things can change in a college football and professional football landscape.
If Kingsbury has any more Air Raid quarterback predictions, let’s see what’s happening next.